DAVAO CITY — Mindanao may soon find itself at the center of one of the Philippines’ biggest pushes into semiconductors, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing—not because the region will host the flagship Pax Silica hub, but because it holds many of the minerals that could help power the technology supply chain.

The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) is exploring how the region can become an important supplier and production partner in the Philippines’ emerging Pax Silica ecosystem, a United States-led initiative focused on strengthening supply chains for critical minerals, semiconductors, AI infrastructure and other strategic technologies.

MinDA Assistant Secretary Romeo Montenegro said Mindanao has several resources that could feed into the initiative, particularly nickel, copper, gold, silica and rare-earth elements.

“Definitely, there are a number of production inputs that can be supplied from Mindanao,” Montenegro said, pointing to the region’s potential role in industries such as battery manufacturing. According to him, around 90% of Philippine nickel ore production comes from Mindanao.

Mindanao has the minerals—but can it process them?

That may be the biggest question facing the region.

Montenegro said much of Mindanao’s nickel ore is currently shipped abroad, while the region lacks sufficient power-generation capacity for large-scale mineral processing and value-adding facilities.

A single smelting operation, for example, could require around 20 megawatts of electricity, he said.

That power constraint could determine whether Mindanao remains primarily a source of raw materials or becomes a bigger participant in the higher-value industries that those minerals support.

The issue is particularly significant as the Philippines seeks to move beyond exporting raw materials and capture a larger share of the global technology value chain.

The New Clark City connection

The emerging Philippine component of Pax Silica is centered on a proposed high-technology and advanced-manufacturing ecosystem in New Clark City, Tarlac.

Government and business reports have described a proposed Economic Security Zone of roughly 4,000 acres, or about 1,619 hectares, within New Clark City. The project is envisioned as a base for industries connected to semiconductors, AI, critical-mineral processing, advanced manufacturing, energy and related infrastructure.

The U.S. Department of State describes Pax Silica as a major effort to strengthen AI and supply-chain security among partners and trusted countries, covering areas such as critical minerals, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, logistics, energy and digital infrastructure.

For Mindanao, that creates a potentially important link: the minerals could originate in the south while processing, manufacturing and technology investments develop in Luzon.

MinDA is now looking at how that connection can be established.

A key discussion is coming

Montenegro said MinDA and the Board of Investments are examining Mindanao’s possible role in the initiative, with discussions expected during a BOI roadshow scheduled for August 24.

The proposed linkage remains in the discussion stage, meaning there is not yet a finalized program guaranteeing that Mindanao will supply specific Pax Silica facilities.

But MinDA believes the region could eventually become an integral component of the broader ecosystem.

BusinessMirror separately reported that MinDA is positioning Mindanao and Davao to participate in the Pax Silica ecosystem, reinforcing the idea that the initiative could extend beyond the physical boundaries of the proposed New Clark City hub.

Why nickel matters so much

Nickel gives Mindanao an obvious strategic advantage.

The mineral is essential to several industrial applications, including batteries and stainless steel, and the Philippines is one of the world’s significant nickel producers.

That makes Mindanao potentially important not only to Philippine industrial policy but also to efforts to diversify global supply chains for critical minerals.

The opportunity goes beyond nickel.

MinDA has identified copper, gold, silica and rare-earth elements in Mindanao as resources relevant to semiconductor and advanced-technology industries.

The larger ambition is therefore straightforward: instead of simply extracting minerals and shipping them overseas, the Philippines wants to create more opportunities to process resources and connect them to higher-value manufacturing.

But the opportunity comes with a major challenge

The Pax Silica discussion also raises a difficult question for Mindanao:

Will the region capture more of the economic value—or simply supply the raw materials for industries built somewhere else?

That question matters because the success of a technology supply chain is not determined only by the availability of minerals. Reliable electricity, transportation, processing facilities, skilled workers, investment and environmental safeguards are equally important.

The government has promoted Pax Silica as an opportunity to position the Philippines as a stronger player in the global AI and advanced-manufacturing economy. The Bases Conversion and Development Authority has said the proposed development could generate more than 130,000 high-quality jobs, although such figures remain projections tied to a project that is still being developed.

At the same time, concerns have emerged over the infrastructure requirements and potential environmental pressures associated with a massive industrial and technology development. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro previously said the Pax Silica project would not be allowed to proceed at the expense of water security, stressing the need for sustainable water management.

For Mindanao, similar questions will inevitably follow any expansion of mineral extraction or processing.

The bigger picture

The Philippines formally entered the Pax Silica initiative in 2026 as it sought to strengthen its position in critical minerals, electronics, semiconductors and AI-related industries.

The U.S. initiative represents a broader attempt to build more resilient and trusted technology supply chains, linking mineral resources with advanced manufacturing, computing infrastructure and energy systems.

That puts Mindanao in an unusual position.

The region may not be the location of the headline-grabbing AI hub in New Clark City, but its mineral wealth could become one of the foundations of the wider Philippine strategy.

The next challenge will be turning that potential into actual investment, processing capacity, jobs and higher-value industries in Mindanao itself.

And that is where the August 24 BOI discussions could become important.

For Mindanao, the real Pax Silica opportunity may not simply be supplying the minerals. It could be deciding how much of the technology value chain the region is able to keep.